


but we're both moving steady

by caelestys



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-09
Updated: 2014-11-09
Packaged: 2018-02-24 17:28:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2590073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/caelestys/pseuds/caelestys
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's so hot inside that Merlin can barely breathe, so he leaves Will to the drunk, giggling girl who's found a seat in his lap, and goes to hunt down a drink. He swings the door of the kitchen open and wallops Arthur, on his way out, right in the forehead.</p><p>"OW, FUCK," says Arthur, stumbling back.</p><p>"Oh my god, are you alright?!" says Merlin, flailing ineffectively.</p>
            </blockquote>





	but we're both moving steady

Merlin has a hoodie pulled up over his head, and he's standing and shivering in the rain at nine in the morning for Will's weekly football match, and he deserves a reward for being the best friend ever. Will is fighting with his shoelaces and pointing at the blonde bloke on the other team and telling Merlin how much of a giant tosser he is.

The blonde tosser is Arthur Pendragon, and Will hates everything about him from his parentage to his test scores to the shiny BMW he drives to uni.

Of course, Arthur Pendragon intercepts eight passes - half of which were from Will - and makes the winning pass to Lancelot with seven minutes left to go on the clock, and Merlin thinks that maybe Will is just, well. Bitter.

Arthur's laugh is bright and happy as he leads his team off the field, and he glances over with a grin when Lance waves at Merlin. Will comes over to shake mud and rainwater onto Merlin, who squawks and leaps on top of him, and by the time Will surrenders, claiming weakness by exhaustion, they are covered in mud and Arthur Pendragon, along with the rest of his team, has disappeared into the showers. 

+

The next time Merlin sees Arthur, it's when Gwaine's parents have pissed off to the Maldives and therefore, the next logical step is to throw a huge fucking party at his mansion.

It's so hot inside that Merlin can barely breathe, so he leaves Will to the drunk, giggling girl who's found a seat in his lap, and goes to hunt down a drink. He swings the door of the kitchen open and wallops Arthur, on his way out, right in the forehead.

"OW, FUCK," says Arthur, stumbling back.

"Oh my god, are you alright?!" says Merlin, flailing ineffectively.

"I bloody well think not," says Arthur, managing to look murderous while clutching at the big red welt on his forehead. He flops down into a kitchen chair and moans.

Merlin manages to get the freezer open in his panic and pulls out the only thing he can find that isn't vodka or slabs of meat. He wraps the block of ice cream in a tea towel, tugs Arthur's hand away, and presses it to his forehead.

"I'm really sorry," he says again, dabbing it gently at Arthur's forehead, and his glare softens.

"Be careful," Arthur yelps as Merlin presses slightly harder at his forehead, and Merlin glares at him.

"Stop moving, then, prat," he says, and Arthur grumbles at him, but doesn't try to move away.

Later, after Arthur's skin is more red from the cold than from the door, after he's answered Merlin's phone for him when Merlin was standing in front of the fridge debating Stella versus Crown, after he's stolen Merlin's hoodie, complaining that he's cold - he grins at Merlin, bright like that day on the football field, rubs his forehead and says, "I guess I owe you a pint sometime, huh?" And Merlin scoffs, "Of course not, I smacked a door into your face." And Arthur shrugs and wiggles his fingers and says, "But your first aid magic has left me pristine and unbruised."

And Merlin finds himself smiling back, and thinks, _Oh my god, Will is going to HATE me._

+

 

The next time, it's raining - again - and Merlin is walking home from a lecture, hood pulled up over his head. He's got his earphones in, which is why he doesn't realize Arthur's stopped next to him until Arthur grabs his wrist.

"Hey," says Arthur, smiling. "You're soaking, let me give you a ride."

Merlin blinks at the shiny silver BMW and then at the muddy, rain soaked, ratty hems of his jeans. "Um," he says, "I really shouldn't."

But Arthur huffs at him, the rain making his hair curl damply around his ears, and Merlin is a little mesmerised as Arthur shoves him into the passenger seat.

+

 

Arthur hangs around, and Merlin feels a little weird letting him poke around his tiny, messy student apartment as Merlin showers the rain off himself. He dries off quickly and steps into a clean pair of jeans and a hoodie.

"Always with the hoodies," Arthur says amusedly as Merlin walks through the doorway, towelling his hair dry. "Who's this?" He asks, turning away to pick up a photo of him and Gwen at his 21st.

"Oh, that's Gwen," Merlin says mildly, going into the kitchen to put the kettle on.

"Gwen?" says Arthur, voice carrying through to the kitchen.

"Yeah," Merlin says, smiling, pulling two mugs out of the dish rack. "She's my best friend from primary school."

Arthur comes into the kitchen and leans against the doorway. "What about William, then?" He asks, arms folded against his chest. Merlin stirs a sugar and a dash of milk into his own tea and sips it, humming.

"Best friend from before we could walk," he says, and watches as Arthur unfolds his arms and comes over to steal the mug from Merlin's hands and slurp a good amount down, never mind the perfectly good cup of tea waiting for him on the kitchen counter.

"I still owe you that pint," Arthur says, leaning close enough that he's almost speaking into Merlin's ear.

"Oh," breathes Merlin, "Okay," and steals his tea back.

+

Merlin is cooking dinner for his and Gwen's Friday night movie marathon, and Gwen brings Morgana, who brings Arthur.

"Oh," Merlin says when he opens the door. "It's you."

"Don't you feel honoured?" Arthur asks, smiling wickedly, and pushes into his apartment.

"I didn't make enough for four," Merlin says faintly, as Gwen bustles in with Morgana close behind her.

"It's okay," Morgana announces, hugging him. "We brought dumplings!"

Later, when the girls have gone home, Arthur offers to help clean up. He's hungry again, and not averse to stealing Merlin's food, so he goes into the kitchen and reheats the carbonara as Merlin puts away the rest of the DVDs. He comes out with two steaming plates of pasta. They sit cross legged on the couch with their food cradled in their laps, and Merlin laughs at Arthur trying to slurp noodles without getting sauce all over himself and Arthur reaches over the wipe sauce off to corner of Merlin's mouth and then blushes like he didn't mean to do it, and Merlin is so giddy he feels like vibrating out of his skin. 

+

The fifth time Merlin see Arthur, he opens the door and Arthur is standing on the doorstep, fidgeting.

"Hi," Arthur says.

"I don't have any food for you," Merlin says, warily, and Arthur clears his throat and smiles shakily.

"That's not - that's not why I'm here."

"I don't have any beer, either," says Merlin, half-joking.

Arthur almost chokes; Merlin can see his cheeks turning pink. "I'm not here for that, either," he says. "Fuck it, Morgana said - I don't know why - she said I should just do it, so -"

"Arthur? Are you alright?" Merlin says, concerned, and then Arthur leans in and kisses him.

It's just all very closed-mouthed and awkward, until Merlin gets with the program and opens his mouth, and then it's like. It's Arthur the way Merlin's never seen him and always wanted to. He can feel Arthur shaking when he wraps his arms around his waist, tension strung tight through his body; Arthur brings his hands up to cup Merlin's jaw and licks at the seam of his lips, seals his mouth against Merlin's bottom lip, and Merlin clings on and kisses back as hard as he can.

Arthur makes the most delicious noises when Merlin's fingers find the strip of skin between his jeans and shirt, and Merlin is so hard he feels like he's coming apart. The door slams behind them, and he slips his hands underneath Arthur's shirt, desperate to get his hands all over him.

"Off, get this off," he murmurs, and Arthur pauses to yank his shirt off his head. It leaves his hair all fluffed up and tangled in a way that makes Merlin really want to bury his fingers in it, so he does, kissing Arthur as he pulls him back towards his room, letting Arthur fumble blindly with the zipper of his jeans.

Arthur lands on top of him on the bed, and it only takes a few seconds for Arthur to sit up and yank Merlin's jeans off. Merlin pulls his own shirt off as Arthur unbuckles his own belt and pushes his jeans down; Merlin doesn't give him enough time to kick them all the way off before pulling him back down. Arthur moans as he slides into the vee of merlin's legs, and he hitches Merlin's knees up and tucks his own under his thighs so they're fitted together like puzzle pieces.

Merlin gasps as Arthur tugs on his hair, tilting his head up so Arthur can suck a bruising line of kisses down Merlin's throat. He chokes back a laugh as Arthur trails ticklish fingertips down his sides, muffles his own laughter against the tender skin under Merlin's ear. He yelps as Arthur's elbow knocks into his hip, accidentally kicks Arthur in the shoulder, leans up on an elbow to soothe it with kisses. He scratches bluntly down Arthur's back, loving the way Arthur shivers, sliding helplessly against him.

They push together, pull and slide and moan and whisper and giggle like children, and it's quite possibly the best sex he's had in a while, and then Arthur reaches down to take both of them in one large hand and then it's the best sex he's had ever. He's pretty sure he said that aloud because Arthur laughs and bites his ear, and Merlin says, "Hey!" And, "Ow," and Arthur licks it better and pushes closer in apology, and then their words are lost to quiet moans and soft laughter, and it's amazing. 

+

When Merlin wakes up, the bed is empty, but the door is flung wide open and he can hear the stove exhaust going and Arthur humming in the kitchen. He pulls on a pair of sweatpants and goes to brush his teeth, then trudges to the kitchen, yawning.

"Morning, sunshine," Arthur says when he sees him, and expertly flips a pancake onto its other side. He's only wearing his boxers. Merlin's mouth goes a little dry.

"You're making pancakes," says Merlin dumbly.

Arthur nods.

"I love pancakes," says Merlin.

"I know," says Arthur, smugly.

He turns off the stove and fidgets, suddenly nervous, until Merlin steps closer. "I hope this is okay," Arthur says, hesitantly, reaching for Merlin until he comes close enough that Arthur can put his hands on his hips.

"More than," says Merlin, pushing in as close as he can and pressing his lips to Arthur's temple.

"I know I said I owed you a pint," Arthur says, looking up at Merlin through his lashes, and Merlin runs his fingers through Arthur's hair and kisses him thoroughly, and says, "This'll do."

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't posted in ages and I miss these boys, so... here you go. :D
> 
> I'm on [tumblr!](http://caelestys.tumblr.com/) Come say hi.


End file.
